St. Pierre epitomizes lightning-fast evolution of MMA

The perfect mixed martial artist used to be a skinny Brazilian with little ability to punch, kick or wrestle. Which means he wasn't perfect at all. All Royce Gracie could do was take his opponent to the ground and twist him into taffy, but that was enough to dominate the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. That was in the mid-1990s. Not so long ago.

Only forever.

Georges St. Pierre is the perfect amalgam of every MMA fighting style. (AP)
Georges St. Pierre is the perfect amalgam of every MMA fighting style. (AP)
Since then the sport has become unrecognizable. Royce Gracie in his prime, with his exact skill set from the mid-'90s, couldn't survive today. What was perfect in 1995 has become outdated in 2008. On an individual level, mixed martial artists are growing as fast as their once-underground sport. Maybe faster. Which makes MMA startling and even exhilarating for a traditional sports fan such as myself. And maybe such as yourself.

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Good article. The sport is evolving. In twenty years all fighters will bear an eerie similarity to GSP. He is the blueprint for the perfect fighter. I can't wait.

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Posted by grappler0000

The perfect mixed martial artist used to be a skinny Brazilian with little ability to punch, kick or wrestle. Which means he wasn't perfect at all. All Royce Gracie could do was take his opponent to the ground and twist him into taffy

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Royce Gracie was not a "Mixed Martial Artist." He was a BJJ practitioner that would participate (and dominate) in MMA events.

Just BJJ would be considered a Martial Art not MMA.